I never thought of myself as a teacher until an associate called me "professor" one day as he asked some questions. I began to realize that a large part of every executive's work is to teach. I already knew, of course, that because I was the boss, I could dictate. I could use my power to change behavior. But it made a lot more sense to teach, to persuade the people who worked for me to behave in a productive way. The same holds true in the church and even the home. Teaching is far more than the private specialty of Sunday school workers. It is a much wider gift than we have ever noticed.

Preaching is something different; it's the proclamation of concepts—and it's a very limited gift. Only a few have been given that gift, and it would be wonderful if they were the only ones preaching. But the teaching gift is much broader.

Seven Marks of a Good Teacher

Whether we teach formally or informally, in a classroom on Sunday morning or alongside a co-worker's desk on Thursday afternoon, we want ...